An Integrated System for Interaction in Virtual Environments

Abstract

Many of the systems for interaction currently being used in virtual environments are borrowed from 2D interfaces, such as mobile and desktop computing. These styles of interaction fail to take full advantage of the possibilities offered by immersive environments, and conceptually don’t make sense in 3D space. This thesis proposes and evaluates a pair of tools for interacting with virtual environments which are conceptually 3D, draw metaphors from physical reality, and fit together into an integrated system. The first of these tools, Bird, is a proposed solution for selection and manipulation tasks, and the second, Pockets, is a proposed solution for interacting with menus. Additionally, I propose a series of other tools and interaction techniques which follow the goal of designing from a fundamentally 3D rather than 2D position, and which integrate with Pockets and the Bird, but which were not implemented or tested during the course of this thesis.